Yves here. We were one of two guests on Chris Cook’s latest interview on Gorilla Radio, which was published earlier in the week. I hope you enjoy the talk. Cook is a gracious host and I enjoyed the talk, but I also felt out of practice. I could gotten more points in and didn’t, so I am concerned it was a bit flabby. You will be the judge!
First up is Montréal-based activist Yves Engler; we come in at around 33:00.
By Chris Cook, who hosts Gorilla Radio, airing Thursdays/Saturdays, 11am/8am Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, on the internet at: cfuv.ca, and archived at: www.gorilla-radio.com. He is too the past contributing editor to the web news site, www.pacificfreepress.com, (now defunct). Tweets @paciffreepress and the GR blog is at: gorillaradioblog.blogspot.com.
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Yikes!
Most would cross the street in your present condition.
All would fear to meet you at fighting weight.
‘Abject ignorance’ and the ‘US We’ are keepers.
Please do more interviews, I could listen to you all day long.
I discovered Naked Capitalism when i heard you on Harry Shearer’s Le Show
So happy you’re doing this again! I’d sought out what few youtube videos there are of you from the GFC.
A half hour interview is pretty short for the volume of material. Sure, it could have been tighter, but for people used to the dreck that passes for commentary on TV and radio, this was way more than enough to chew on.
Also kind of funny it was a double-Yves episode. I really enjoy his writings.
(Unrelated: I’ve been listening to a lot of the West Wing Thing podcast and I couldn’t help but go “oh my gosh, she sounds just like that actor!”)
Yeah I listen to podcasts to hear people let ideas stretch out, not to get everything wrapped in a nice package.
Listening again, you really were cutting yourself off a lot since you’re thinking faster than onr can speak. I do this all the time and speak with way too many parentheticals or em-dash clauses that probably work better on paper.
A more relaxed recording situation and more substantial editing could smooth this out. Not sure if it was live or not but I assume fast turnaround on the production. I don’t recall your other interviews having this much pressure-of-speech (to jokingly use a mental health term).
Anyway that’s the only problem I could identify. Like the other commenter said, I could listen to you all day. I’d be so thrilled if you start doing the podcast circuit.
On the other hand, that cutting-off could have been caused by the editing itself if he was trying to squeeze an expansive discussion into a half hour. Awkward format. Go on TrueAnon lol
I’m mad as hell at YT for purging RT videos and YS appearances among them. If one hasn’t seen them, one hasn’t seen nothing yet! :sigh:
Let’s just say they had this glass table in the studio that allowed one to see the whole picture so to speak.
Agreed. RT produced one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen — “Trans-Siberian Odyssey.” It showed a trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway from the perspective of the train crew.
This line of reasoning that the market can’t be disrupted, despite a war going on is absolutely bizarre, and that it’s based on some sort of psycho-political theorizing that the sanctions are perpetuated because of ego.
It’s the weirdest disaffected liberal take I’ve heard in a while, especially if it was ego, the incentives are all wrong. There are a lot more made-for-TV blusters they could be pulling off.
A recent poll in Germany, the country being most affected by the energy sanctions, puts it at about 70% public support on dealing with higher costs if it it does end the war sooner than later. Sure, that’s a big causal if, but what else is a politician supposed to do?
There’s reason to be advocating for more state intervention, relief checks, profit windfall taxes, public provisions of goods, and rallying around the sacrifices we’ll collectively be making to turn down the use of hydrocarbon fuels, as with the pandemic, or former wartimes, but I guess that’s not what we’ll get.
What a treat! Thank you Yves for doing this interview — and your point re COVID forcing people to finally realize they could get by on less, and with less, is a key one that seems to sail over many heads, as well as the ideological snowstorm that accompanied, and still accompanies, vaccine distribution.
Yves, I hear what you mean about your feeling that you were out of practice. However, having been interviewed for a podcast once (and that podcast thankfully never having been published), I understand how difficult being interviewed live and under time pressure can be.
One thing that struck me was your deep frustration with the shallow thinking on the part of U.S. ruling class policy-making elites — particularly with respect to foreign policy. But if the elites’ thinking were actually deeper (suppose George Kennan were resurrected), would U.S. foreign policy be any less destructive to people around the world?
That was a lot of material you managed to pack into less than half an hour. And it was a delight to listen to you talk finally and with that spike of laughter. I can see I missed a lot by never being able to attend those meet-ups pre-Pandemic.
Very nice to hear this. A major regret of mine was missing the meet-up in Seattle several years ago.
Thank you. I couldn’t agree more that we (the government) don’t even bother to understand how our economy malfunctions. As if it were irrelevant. Congress is too busy writing legislation that secures the position of the dollar, imo. Like “strategic security” stuff. TPP stuff. It’s too ironic that they are neglecting the real economy. Something you said about Volcker imposing high interest rates too long and managed to prolong an inflated economy (if I heard you correctly) – it made sense to me that high interest rates lock in inflation and make it hard to exit the torture. High interest rates don’t do much of anything anyway except slow everything down – which can lead to more “supply shock” and etc. The only thing I can think of as justification to make sense of this is that we have to maintain the financial “economy” (strong dollar) to the detriment of the real economy. Pretty weird. Just wondering how long this tactic (if this is what is happening) can continue. (Maggie should have said, “There’s no such thing as an economy.”) Wondering now if it would be possible to cure inflation by curing need. That is by organizing society to provide for basic needs and then the demand that’s left over could drive a market economy at a nice steady pace. So now, to my thinking supply and demand are hard to distinguish. You made some complex points about inflation.
One more thought. There is an “arrow” of inflation. Because once high prices are broken and the economy settles into balance, the dollar doesn’t fall much. It never really goes down to where it was, right? Because the dollar has inflated the rest of the world’s prices?
Yves Engler fan here, so happy to listen through. At the end of YE’s bit Chris Cook plugs some do that Yves E will be in/at/(insert any appropriate preposition) and Yves gives some coordinates that roll by and adds, “You can find them on the Voice of Women website.” Coolio! Lurves me some Canadaction! Here is the website: https://vowpeace.org/. Well, yum. They post a PAID internship dated July 9, the previous post is June 19 and urged urgent action for a now-past event. Real hive of activity, my Cdn sisters! Could not locate any mention of whatever the event Yves E was supposed to be doing something at, nor a calendar, nor a search box. Curses, foiled! As a Cdn ♀ with pretty strong ideas, I gotta say that I am SOOOOO unsurprised.
So, or possibly but, thanks for the connection to Gorilla Radio and cfuv.ca, I will check up on them to see what happens. Most Cdn sites are soooooo lethargic, maybe one post a week (and 10 comments) is about what I see.
So, not to continue whinging, anyone here know of more, um, lively Cdn sites? If not, shall we start one?
That out of the way, I now go to listen to the Lady Yves.
Listened to Our Lady Yves’s half hour. I am only an egg but I heard no production problems. Me, just an actual human, not trained in production values, just came there with my own ears. Which I trust. I have been told, by one of my editors, that I have an excellent ear, so there. Persons who have Real Training and/or Experience in Production Values may disagree as they will, but as for me as a lumpen listener, I was hearing the words and they were good.
Lady Yves, I recall your explaining why you no longer did Harry Shearer etc. (IIRC, airflight, makeup, hairdressing, time-zone issues, etc.), but it seems that podcasts are a total ‘nother bag of iguanas. In your shoes (which I am totally not!)*, I’d forget the cable TV and etc, but pls consider more podcasts as they do not require air travel, timezone problems, or (ahem, as an old lady currently wearing paint-stained BDU’s, sandals with socks, and a second hand Tshirt), hair and wardrobe inconveniences.
* I wouldn’t dream that I could fill your shoes. I’m size 9, besides, I got these bunions…
Not Harry Shearer (who is a great host and does radio) but TV.
You did just fine! I’m sure it will kindle interest in NC. Thank you for all your hard work.
Not flabby at all. Anyhow, Cook was skillful at bringing you back around the central topic of inflation, which was good as you were able to emphasize the main points on the nature of this inflation compared to the last inflation in the 70s. I’m laughing to myself imagining you take down some BBC newsreader.
Forgot to mention Lambert. Does he have an interview history and is he available?
Thank you Yves, very interesting discussion with lots to digest.
I wanted to point out that if anyone else finds the Gorilla Radio site blocked from their location, the podcast is also available this week on the CFUV dot ca radio site, just search for Gorilla. There’s a “stream last week’s program” link on the show’s page.
I got to this a little late but I thought you were a really lively, interesting guest. I hope more interview opportunities come your way.